Ripening tomatoes indoors and rotting
Every summer I end up having to bring the blushing tomatoes inside to ripen (for various reasons). And every year I lose half to more than half of them to rotting. Is it my basement where I have them? or is there something else going on? I am so frustrated with the amount that I lose every year
Some people cut their entire plant and hang it upside down where it is cool. The wise people who do this - put something soft under the plant so if fruit fall off, it doesn't bruise hitting the floor.
What I do, Sheila, is put the green tomatoes right in the kitchen.
The basket will be gone thru really on a daily basis. DW or I will work our way right to the bottom - no, they are NOT wrapped in newspaper. I don't like newsprint on my fingers let alone, my food. Also, I wouldn't be able to see the ripening fruit if they are wrapped - or, in my basement. Enuf trouble with the spuds down there . . .
Anyway, whatever is ripe goes to the counter near the sink. It just makes it easier to think to use it. What tomatoes are still green can stay in the basket. They will all be turned out soon to see which should go into a BLT or something that day or the next.
BTW . . . uh, By The Way -- there are some tomatoes that make very good storage tomatoes if that is what you are wanting. Thessaloniki will ripen in my garden. I think it is a great heirloom beefsteak for ripening here! If the later fruit are still green as frost is threatening, they will last & last. I've picked Thessa fruits green at this time of year and made soup out of them the 1st week of December. And that, BTW, is about all I think a tomato that has been off the vine for 2 1/2 months is good for . . . but, I make pretty darn good cream of tomato soup!
Steve
What I do, Sheila, is put the green tomatoes right in the kitchen.
The basket will be gone thru really on a daily basis. DW or I will work our way right to the bottom - no, they are NOT wrapped in newspaper. I don't like newsprint on my fingers let alone, my food. Also, I wouldn't be able to see the ripening fruit if they are wrapped - or, in my basement. Enuf trouble with the spuds down there . . .
Anyway, whatever is ripe goes to the counter near the sink. It just makes it easier to think to use it. What tomatoes are still green can stay in the basket. They will all be turned out soon to see which should go into a BLT or something that day or the next.
BTW . . . uh, By The Way -- there are some tomatoes that make very good storage tomatoes if that is what you are wanting. Thessaloniki will ripen in my garden. I think it is a great heirloom beefsteak for ripening here! If the later fruit are still green as frost is threatening, they will last & last. I've picked Thessa fruits green at this time of year and made soup out of them the 1st week of December. And that, BTW, is about all I think a tomato that has been off the vine for 2 1/2 months is good for . . . but, I make pretty darn good cream of tomato soup!
Steve
- applestar
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My first thought was that a basement may be too cool and damp, with pre-existing mold and fungi spores to boot. I tend to think they want to be warm-ish -- somewhere that you would be comfortable in. They need good air circulation. I put the nearly/ready ones in the kitchen on cooling racks lined with fluffy towels, firmer almost nearly ready ones in a basket, and the green/blushing ones elsewhere (sometimes dining room, sometimes family room....) in flat cardboard boxes lined with several sheets of unprinted Kraft or newsprint paper -- I don't like newspaper ink either.
And yep, look for "good keeper" in the variety description.
P.S. I keep hearing you mention Thessalonikki. I might have to try growing some.
And yep, look for "good keeper" in the variety description.
P.S. I keep hearing you mention Thessalonikki. I might have to try growing some.
- Francis Barnswallow
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I was thinking the same thing. I pick tomatoes at the first sign of them starting to blush and I keep them on the kitchen counter to ripen. They get a nice steady breeze of cool A/C all day long, and a little at night. They ripen nicely.My first thought was that a basement may be too cool and damp, with pre-existing mold and fungi spores to boot.
I guess next year they don't go downstairs. Our house is small, so it is difficult to find a place upstairs... but I saw a tutorial about turning a changing table into a tomato rack. So I might try that. it just stinks for them all to rot like that! makes me want to cry I have them on a screen so that they're getting the air around them, but I guess it just isn't enough.
- rainbowgardener
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Agree about the basement. I keep mine in the kitchen and they do well. Do inspect them carefully, though. If there are any little splits or holes, any way that air can get to the inside, they will not keep and should be used right away. As long as the skin is perfectly intact, they should do fine in a warm dry environment.
- jal_ut
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When I suspect frost I cover the tomatoes with 6 mil poly sheeting. It protects them from freezing. It also increased the temperature under the wrap in the daytime so the fruit ripens quicker. At some point I will pick them all and the pink ones are put in a different bucket than the totally green ones and I bring them in and put them in cardboard boxes in the garage. Not stacked too deep. They seem to ripen quite well with some minimal losses. I have much drier conditions here than many of you though. I think high humidity may be an aid to spoilage organisms. I started using cardboard boxes when I noticed that if kept in buckets, where they touched the bucket is where the spoilage began. I associated that to the bucket holding the moisture at that point. The cardboard breathes a bit. For a few, just on the counter top works well. They get good air circulation that way.
I haven't been picking them green, but blushing. The stink bugs have been getting to them, so I've been picking them to save them. but that didn't work I still have quite a few on the vine. Perhaps I'll rig up the changing table for the remainder of them.
Do you think a screen is enough circulation or would it do better with chicken wire?
Do you think a screen is enough circulation or would it do better with chicken wire?
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Here is how the professional do it.
[quote]Suggested Tomato Ripening Tips
Proper temperature, humidity, air circulation, ventilation, ethylene and mature tomatoes are required for ripening:
Temperature range for ripening: 64° to 70°F (18° to 21°C)
Humidity for ripening & storage: 85 - 95% RH (90% ideal)
Air Circulation: Sufficient to provide even pulp temperatures throughout the ripening room.
Ventilation: Use “flow throughâ€
[quote]Suggested Tomato Ripening Tips
Proper temperature, humidity, air circulation, ventilation, ethylene and mature tomatoes are required for ripening:
Temperature range for ripening: 64° to 70°F (18° to 21°C)
Humidity for ripening & storage: 85 - 95% RH (90% ideal)
Air Circulation: Sufficient to provide even pulp temperatures throughout the ripening room.
Ventilation: Use “flow throughâ€